2016 Jaguar F-Pace 35t - $0EGC

Jaguar claims that 81 per cent of the parts utilised in its breakthrough SUV are all new, although you wouldn't pick it upon sitting inside the F-Pace for the first time.

The driver's seat is reassuringly low-slung and well bolstered, reinforcing the vehicle's sporty pretensions. The cabin styling, much like Jaguar's XE and XF sedan offerings preceding it, screams the work of designer Ian Callum, who along with a broader team poured three-and-a-half years into the latest project. The engines, too, are lifted from various Jaguar products, and there's even a bulging bonnet reminiscent of earlier Jags dating back to the 1968 model XJ.

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2016 Jaguar F-Pace first drive video reviewJaguar has seemingly filled a new niche with the introduction of the long-awaited F-Pace SUV.

It feels familiar, but the latest Jaguar has unprecedented pressure heaped onto its broad shoulders.

"I'm convinced that it's the most important Jaguar ever," offers the car maker's lead engineer, Mike Cross, at the F-Pace's international launch in Montenegro this week.

The F-Pace arrives in Australia in July and completes arguably the single largest range makeover in Jaguar history. It will be priced from $74,340 (plus on-road costs) - pitting it directly against the Porsche Macan and the BMW X4.

New guard: the 2017 Jaguar F-Pace. Photo: Supplied

Five trim levels will be offered including an initial First Edition variant that will top the range. The rest of the line-up begins with the Prestige before stepping up to R-Sport, Portfolio and S. Even base model variants will boast 19-inch alloys, leather interior, 380W 11-speaker sound system, eight-inch infotainment touch screen with navigation, keyless ignition, power tailgate, reversing camera and parking sensors, Xenon headlights and torque vectoring by braking.

Measuring only 1.66 metres high and 4.7 metres long, the F-Pace squeezes into a unique physical niche. It is considerably larger than the Macan, but then smaller than a seven-seat BMW X5, the next segment up. In many ways, it is the ideal size for an everyday SUV and may well fill a previously unoccupied part of the luxury SUV segment.

The rear seat is surprisingly spacious. The sloping roofline of the exterior has had little to no repercussion on interior space, only mildly impacting driver vision with a compromised rear window and bulky C-pillars. There is ample head room and leg room throughout, though, along with dual-zone air-conditioning for rear occupants plus generous door pockets and a flip-down centre armrest containing two cup holders. Like the smaller XE sedan, bolstering on the outer second row pews tends to impinge shoulder space, meaning the F-Pace will be limited to carrying two full-size adults in relative comfort rather than three.

The boot, meanwhile, houses a temporary spare tyre along with a clever moveable tie-down system integrated into the floor. Measuring 650 litres in regular form, the rear stowage is extendable to 1740 litres via split folding seats. This extends overall floor length to 1.8 metres with the seats down and what's more, the floor stays completely flat.

Fronts seats with 14-way adjustment plus the standard fitment of four USB ports and four 12-volt sockets reinforces Jaguar's focus on getting this SUV caper right, first time round. A 10.2-inch touch screen projects its infotainment features, synchronising with a digital 12.3-inch display in the instrument cluster. Jaguar Australia is working with telcos to help facilitate the F-Pace's in-built WiFi network capable of supporting eight devices. Already available overseas, it's hoped a remedy will soon be made for the Australian market.

Jaguar hopes to appease customers with the F-Pace's standard suite of safety technology comprising 12 different active safety functions including autonomous emergency braking which can detect pedestrians. In addition, all variants will be equipped with a capable 2.4-tonne braked towing capacity.

There is no hiding the Jaguar's sporting pretensions out on the road.

From the driver's seat the F-Pace feels like nearly any other Jaguar. But it delivers more than expected. Photo: Supplied

"Our goal was to develop a viable dynamic alternative to the Porsche Macan," Cross says.

What Cross presumably means to say is that work on the F-Pace was well advanced when Porsche originally debuted the Macan in 2013. When it did it brought the realisation that it was good enough to effectively reset the segment benchmarks, forcing the British car maker back to the drawing board for some head-scratching revisions.

The result is a vehicle that doesn't particularly challenge the Macan on pure dynamics, but rather threatens its mantle with an all-roundedness that comes from a more practical cabin layout and useable everyday driving dynamics.

The F-Pace employs double aluminium wishbone front suspension and claimed to deliver 50 per cent greater lateral stiffness than the Macan. Integral rear suspension resides at the rear of the car.

Despite these features, and the optional fitment of adaptive dampers across our test fleet, the initial feeling is that the F-Pace is not quite as pointed or dynamically adept in comparison with the Macan. Its larger dimensions naturally impede agility, and the vehicle simply doesn't feel as light on its feet.

That is not to say the F-Pace is a slouch. Rather, it broadens the dynamic envelope for a vehicle of its size, with accurate and precise steering, and body control which belies the circa 1800kg kerb weight.

On a tight, twisting mountain pass, the natural rear-drive bias of the F-Pace comes to the fore as it transfers weight through corners and pulls cleanly towards the next obstacle. Torque vectoring technology makes benign adjustments to keep the vehicle pointed, braking the inside wheels to improve overall tractability. It's all very cohesive, and importantly, it feels good. It feels Jaguar.

Push a little harder, and that's when the F-Pace starts to unravel. Pile too much speed onto its sticky Pirelli P-Zero tyres and understeer will eventually prevail, the additional momentum also forcing excessive body roll and a general lack of control.

Equally, those sporting pretensions mean the F-Pace is firm and busy in its overall demeanour. The 22-inch wheels fitted to test vehicles convey bumps busily through the chassis without crashing, and mean the car never truly settles on the B-grade Montenegro network. However the ride tends to settle with the fitment of smaller 20-inch alternatives. Irrespective of wheel size, the cabin remains serene and free from excessive road noise.

Of the three engines available to the Australian market, it is the flagship 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine ? the same as that found in the F-Type ? that feels the best match for this sporty high-rider. Reaching its peak 280kW at 6500rpm and 450Nm at 4500rpm, the petrol engine finds its straps at the upper end of the dial; anecdotally, it is around the 5500rpm mark in which it finds a second wind, pulling willingly to redline (think a 0-100km/h time of 5.5 seconds). The aural signature of the petrol V6 is surprisingly endearing, too, emitting a clean and unsynthesised note that is ever-present in the cabin, without conveying the same pop and crackle character as a sports car.

The corresponding six-cylinder diesel offers a more efficient mix of power and fuel economy. It averaged just 6.0L/100km in a mix of conditions, harnessing large reserves of torque and a quick-witted eight-speed automatic to keep fuel use to a minimum.

Across all models the F-Pace will send drive to all four-wheels via a eight-speed transmission. The car maker will not offer manual version in Australia but says those who wish to keep their hands busy can do off-road using in-build functions like downhill descent control.

That the F-Pace happens to venture off-road says a lot about its brief as an SUV. No rightful owner would ever intend to take their shiny new number off the bitumen, but if they did, they'd probably be pleasantly surprised.

The F-Pace, while setting no huge wholesale benchmarks for the segment, is extremely well resolved. It does all the things you'd expect from a modern Jaguar but then delivers so much more.